SELF-DRIVING CAR WARS HEAT UP
Increasing overlap leads Alphabet exec Drummond to depart Uber board
If you need a sure sign the race to develop selfdriving cars no longer is just an interesting science project, David Drummond’s departure from Uber’s board is it.
Drummond, an early employee of Alphabet who oversees corporate development and its investment arm for the parent of Google, stepped down Monday after two years on Uber’s board. Prior to both companies confirming the departure, tech news site
The Information reported Drummond had been kept out of recent Uber board meetings.
Drummond’s departure coincided with a report Tuesday that Google was getting ready to roll out a service in San Francisco soon that would allow riders to use the Google-owned Waze traf-
fic app to carpool with commuters heading in similar directions. The resulting fee to the rider would be significantly lower than a current Uber or Lyft fare, according to sources speaking to The Wall Street Journal.
Google’s Waze pilot project began in May around its Mountain View, Calif., headquarters and charges riders 54 cents a mile for the service, a source told the
Journal. Waze, which was founded in Israel, has been offering its carpooling service in that country since last year.
The competition between the two tech companies over the coming shift in transportation couldn’t be more pointed.
Just a few weeks ago, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick revealed his company would be piloting a selfdriving car service in Pittsburgh, a driverless shift that ultimately would slash the cost of a ride. Kalanick also announced Uber was buying self-driving truck start-up Otto, which was started by former employees of Google’s 7-year-old self-driving car project.
“I recently stepped down from Uber’s board given the overlap between the two companies,” Drummond, 53, said in a statement provided to USA TODAY by both Uber and Alphabet. “GV remains an enthusiastic investor and Google will continue to partner with Uber.”
Kalanick, 40, thanked Drummond for his service, adding that he “has been a sage advisor and a great personal friend. I wish David and Alphabet the best and look forward to continued cooperation and partnership.”
The move is reminiscent of Google executive Eric Schmidt’s resignation from Apple’s board in 2009, just as competition mounted over smartphones (Android vs. iPhone) and related consumer services.
As chairman of Alphabet’s GV, (Google Ventures), Drummond was instrumental in a massive $250 million investment in Uber in 2013. Drummond joined Alphabet, then called Google, in 2002 from storied law firm Wilson Sonsini and served as Google’s first outside counsel.
In the past few years, Google has developed its own proprietary self-driving cars that eventually will have neither steering wheels nor pedals and most likely serve as fleets of low-speed urban transportation.
Earlier this year, Uber opened its Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh, staffing it largely with engineers from longtime self-driving car hotbed Carnegie Mellon University. In May, Uber started testing self-driving cars.